With summer right around the corner it is time to get out your fun, bright nail colors again! These tie dye nails look complicated, but they are not and are sure to get tons of compliments. Follow these simple steps, and in a matter of minutes, you will have a trendsetting set of nails without the cost of visiting your local nail salon.

Project estimate:

White nail polish, on hand or $1

4-6 bright nail polishes, on hand or $4 and up

Toothpicks, on hand

Topcoat, on hand or $1

Remover/ cotton swabs ( for additional clean up), on hand

Total: Free and up

Lets start!

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Apply your white polish. This step is recommended, but not required. I prefer to apply 1-2 coats of white polish to all of my nails prior to starting the tie dye. With the white undercoat, your colors will pop even more! Let these dry for 5-10 minutes.

Gather your toothpicks and polishes. Open all the nail polishes for quick access and lay out your toothpicks. Now you can decide what order you would like to make your tie dye. I started with the darker color as the “eye” of the design, going from purple to yellow.

Begin the tie dye. Start by creating a thick stripe of your first color at the upper corner of your nail, you can also alternate where it starts on all your different nails. Continue to add stripes of your color on the rest of your nail, its okay if they flood together. The key is to make the stripes thick enough to swirl around.

Drag the polish. Gently drag the tip of the toothpick through the polish, going from top to bottom. Avoid dragging the white through, this will cause clumping. Finish this step on all of your nails.

Apply your favorite topcoat. This is a rare time when I will say that it is okay to apply the topcoat prior to your nails drying. I find if the polish is a little tacky, it helps smooth out the tie dye. This step will seal in your design, prevent chipping, and add an excellent shine!